1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a printing apparatus such as an ink-jet printer, and relates in particular to a printing apparatus for which the operating state can be easily ascertained.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 16 is a view showing the external appearance of a conventional ink-jet printer. In FIG. 16, a printer 100 comprises: a main body 1 of the printer 100; a cover 2, for covering the front face of the main body 1; a sheet feeder 3, which accepts stacks of paper for printing; a power switch 4, which is used to turn the power for the printer 100 on and of f; a reset switch 5, which is used to recover from a printing operation error; discharge rollers 13, for discharging a printed sheet; and an indicator 17, for indicating the power-on state. An ink carrier (not shown) that holds an ink cartridge is reciprocally provided within the main body 1.
When the power switch 4 of the thus arranged printer 100 is turned on, the indicator 17 enters the illuminated state, indicating that the printer 100 is in the power-on state. When the power switch 4 is turned off, the indicator 17 goes to the non-illuminated state, indicating that the printer 100 is in the power-off state. Thus, by observing the indicator 17, a user can ascertain whether the printer 100 is in the power-on state or in the power-off state.
Incidentally, in addition to ascertaining the power-on/power-off state of a printer, it is sometimes necessary to confirm that a printing process is actually being performed. Such as when, for example, the driving of an ink carrier is not performed due to the occurrence of a transportation system malfunction, so that even though sheets of paper are fed normally, nothing is printed on the sheets that are discharged. Accordingly, in this case, it is necessary to confirm that the ink carrier is operating normally. Another reason for this is because if the ink carrier is not operating normally, the printing head will not be cleaned.
Since, with a conventional printer, to confirm that an ink carrier is being driven a user must listen for the sound produced by the motor that moves the carrier, if the location whereat the printer is installed is noisy, or if the printer is at a distance from the user, the sound associated with the operation of the ink carrier is hard to hear, and confirming that the carrier is actually being driven is difficult. Furthermore, although the operation of the ink carrier can be directly confirmed by opening the cover 2, to do so, the user must be physically present at the printer, and thus a lot of labor is involved in the confirmation process.
On the other hand, a convenient added function for an ink-jet printer would be one that indicates a state wherein the supply of ink in an ink cartridge is greatly reduced, or a state wherein the supply of ink is almost exhausted. Such a function is included in a printing apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. Hei. 4-275156, wherein an LED (Light-Emitting Diode) that is used to indicate an ink-low or ink-out state is attached to an ink cartridge.
However, since for the printing apparatus disclosed in the above publication a special LED is provided to indicate the ink-low or ink-out state, the number of parts is increased, and the manufacturing cost is higher.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a printing apparatus for which it can be easily and precisely confirmed that the printing apparatus is operating normally.
In order to achieve the above object, according to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a printing apparatus comprising: an ink carrier; and an indicator provided for the ink carrier for indicating a power-on state, so that when the indicator moves with the ink carrier, it is observed from outside the printing apparatus.
According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a printing apparatus comprising: an ink cartridge; and an indicator provided for the ink cartridge for indicating a power-on state, so that when the indicator moves with the ink cartridge, it is observed from outside the printing apparatus.